What’s In the Cost of Mobile App?

Over the last few months, we have been researching how to deliver quality mobile apps within time and on budget. Despite what a lot of companies are saying and doing, developing for mobile is very expensive. Why is that?

We Don’t Cookie Cutter

If you’re just pushing out an app, then perhaps some quick development kit will do. But we here at Wesvault want to know the insides and outsides so that an app can scale and any long term structural problems can be fixed. Unless we’re happy with a software package, like WordPress, we’d very much not want to just do it.

2-3 Platforms

When you go mobile, you need to be thinking about IOS and Android. Or even windows phone. That’s 2 to 3 times the work. Testing on Android is a pain, with desktop emulators taking 10 minutes to load the environment. I’m not a fan of Java but the bulk of things makes it so much more difficult.

More bugs, more different problems.

Speed Matters

You have a smaller processor, so you have to be writing efficient code. That takes more time and more time means more money.

Dynamic Costs More

What costs more? A video or a picture book. Obviously a video. Apps are single page applications that are very interactive. There’s more focus on UI/UX and more on the transitions. That’s costs more time and money.

Local and Remote

Does the app live without internet connection. How much connection does it use? Will it store local or remote variables or even both? 1 database or 2 databases with constant syncing?

There’s factors increase your development cost. But people looking at building an app need to weigh out the costs and risks?